Despite playing off balanced and committing several errors, the
San Benito volleyball team still found a way to work out a 21-25,
25-23, 25-21, 25-23 win over visiting Independence in the first
round of the Central Coast Section Division 1 playoffs Wednesday
night.
In the CCS quarterfinals, No. 8 San Benito (19-18) will go
against No. 1 Salinas (26-8), who has defeated the Balers twice in
the league and once in tournament play this season. The game will
be Saturday at North Salinas High School at 3 p.m.
Despite playing off balanced and committing several errors, the San Benito volleyball team still found a way to work out a 21-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 win over visiting Independence in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division 1 playoffs Wednesday night.
In the CCS quarterfinals, No. 8 San Benito (19-18) will go against No. 1 Salinas (26-8), who has defeated the Balers twice in the league and once in tournament play this season. The game will be Saturday at North Salinas High School at 3 p.m.
“I am looking forward to a rematch,” said Baler coach Chuck Schallhorn. “We will give Salinas a match and will give them everything we got. Records don’t matter now. Top to bottom, we have more talent, but Salinas has more consistency.”
The Balers came out a little sluggish and had a tough time getting anything going Wednesday night. Independence, led by 11 kills from Kelly Kumanaru, found the open holes and kept the Balers from getting hot for most of the game.
“For some reason – I have yet to figure out why – there is a lack of confidence when they get on the court,” Schallhorn said. “When we are in practice, I’ve seen some amazing things in terms of aggressiveness and picking up balls no one should be able to get to.”
“We’ve made little adjustments here and there,” Schallhorn added. “As an athlete, you have to learn how to manage your emotions. The least inconsistent team will be the most successful.”
Independence middle hitter Korrine Lewis gave the Balers fits at times with her tough hits.
“We are always short on the east side,” said Independence coach Anne Finney. “We have to keep moving our feet to stay alive. We hadn’t seen Hollister coming in, but we heard that they have big strong blockers.”
The Balers fell behind 3-0 to start the game after they weren’t able to get properly setup. But once they were able to setup the offense, Melissa Moore put down a kill. Moore, who had seven aces in the game, hit three consecutive serves, including one that dropped in the back corner of the court to give the Balers a 4-3 lead.
“She’s a streaky server and a streaky hitter,” Schallhorn said. “From club ball, she is accustomed to having near-perfect sets. Giving the passing that this team gives the setters, she has had a tough time adjusting. And she is still making the adjustment.”
The Balers had a 10-5 lead, but the 76ers came back to tie the game at 10. Independence took a 13-12 lead on one of the Balers’ many double hits in the game.
San Benito went on top 16-14 when setter Stephanie Mauro, who led the team with 21 assists, served four consecutive serves. Independence went back on top with a couple big blocks, a long hit and an unreturnable serve.
The Balers called timeout at 20-17 after Lesslie Schipper’s attack was blocked.
But Schipper, who had nine kills and three solo blocks, returned the favor with a strong block of her own to get within 21-18. Combined with a couple of serves Schipper dropped in to get within one, it appeared the Balers might have some momentum going to help them shake off their daze.
“We wanted to win every game 25-0,” Schipper said. “I started out cold and wasn’t hitting well. But I started to hit better after that.”
The Balers were able to tie the game at 21-21 but weren’t able to hold on.
“We were just a little more consistent in the first game,” Finney said. “Hollister started adjusting to Kumanaru’s hits down the line. The jump server started getting her serves and hits down.”
San Benito fell behind 4-1 in the second game but was able to take the lead on a couple Moore serves.
The 76ers started dropping in serves and took the lead at 11-10 and worked it as high as 13-10.
The Balers went up 14-13 after Amy Baxter contributed from the server’s station. Independence could never take the lead again. However, the 76ers tied the game four times before the Balers won.
Down 19-16, the 76ers had to call a timeout after a Baler serve was set to the net and fell untouched in front of the net.
The Balers then called timeout at 22-22 when a serve hit the net and rolled over. Moore had a couple of spikes to help the Balers close it out.
In the third game, the Balers finally started to play their brand of volleyball – the hard-hitting, put-it-down game. Moore had a kill to start the game then got it done with five consecutive jump serves.
“We started to feel a little more comfortable,” Moore said. “We had a better attitude coming into that game.”
The Balers eventually built up a 10-3 lead. But little by little, Independence chipped away and eventually tied the score at 14.
Alyssa Fowles, who had 11 digs for the Balers, had a skyhook float drop to give the Balers the lead, which they kept the rest of the game.
San Benito had a little trouble in the fourth game and fell behind 11-5 and then 20-12. But the character of the team started to show through when it counted.
Mallorie Wilson came alive in the fourth game with her four solo blocks.
“We knew it could be our last game,” Wilson said. “The seniors especially didn’t want to lose in our own house.”
Amanda Boyd, who was rotating into the front row for Mauro, also came up big, especially in the fourth game to make several sliding saves at the net. Setter Kathleen McCullough had some nice saves as well.
The Balers tied the game at 21, and then Independence tied the game at 23 to force the Balers to call timeout.
“I turned to my assistant coach and told him that I was going to make them work through this one and wasn’t going to call timeout anytime soon (while we were rallying),” Schallhorn said.
Wilson had a big putdown on a short set, and Schipper and Boyd finished it with a tip.
Fowles had six serves in a row to help the Balers rally back.
“We were pumped up, and we didn’t want to go to a fifth game,” Fowles said. “I just wanted to get the serves in. We stayed on top of the blocks and finally were able to wake up and play better.”
In other Division 1 action, No. 7 Gilroy defeated No. 10 Oak Grove 25-22, 25-13, 26-24 and plays No. 2 Piedmont Hills Saturday at 1 p.m. at Leland High.
